30 pages
5 m, 5 w, 9 or more flexible
From the short story "The Devil and Daniel Webster" by Stephen Vincent Benet. Poor Jake Stone is a total loser. When he finally loses the worst job he's ever had, he makes the claim that he would do anything to be a winner. Soon he meets Lucy, a seemingly attractive, professional woman who can make a special deal with him: she gives Jake wisdom, and he signs away his soul. Rather than waste his opportunity, Jake becomes a kind and intelligent person who gives much to the world. As the time to relinquish his soul draws near, he seeks out the counsel of Daniell...
36 pages
2 m, 7 w, 3 boys, 2 girls, optional extras.
Two ladies in a rest home are arguing. Florence, who has never had a real family Christmas, fantasizes that a family would come along and take her in for the holiday, but of course no family would put themselves out that way. Yes, they would, says her roommate Myrna who has had years of storybook Christmases with her five children. To prove their differing viewpoints, they invent the fictitious Genevieve, a little old lady in a rest home near Myrna's children in Idaho. If one of them will agree to take “her” in, Florence will really believe in Christmas. Dram...
57 pages
4 m, 8 w, 1 flexible, doubling possible
Adam Cogswell is a likable guy whose meager paycheck often makes him "financially challenged." It doesn't matter to Adam's family and friends who like him for who he is - a caring and generous person - but it's a thorn in Adam's side. Then he meets an eccentric billionaire, Mr. Pierpont, who makes him the bet of his life: if Adam can start with a dollar and keep doubling it until he reaches a million dollars, Pierpont will match whatever Adam has accumulated! What follows is a hectic and hilarious pursuit by Adam to win the bet while his friends try to show h...
38 pages
3 m, 2 w, 1 teen girl, 10-19+ children
With the holiday season approaching, Pastor Jack Taylor finds himself overcommitted, unable to take his own advice about not doing so much this year. When parishioner Beulah takes the pastor’s sermon of slowing down to heart and quits the children’s Christmas pageant, Pastor Taylor jumps on the opportunity to let Pam, an inexperienced teen who loves TV crime shows, be in charge. The Pastor doesn’t have the time to supervise her, so she and the kids create a new Christmas pageant called “Bethlehem CSI.” Now the long-loved Nativity scene is a crime scene! Pam t...
52 pages
17 roles (minimum 4 m, 3w)
Here's a contemporary and comedic interpretation of the allegorical story of a man who learns he must prepare to meet his Maker, and then does! As his doom approaches, Everyman discovers that family, friends and fortune cannot accompany him, and that even strength, beauty, intellect and emotion are no match for the Grim Reaper; yet faith, hope and charity prevail. This timeless tale is especially intended for groups ready to move beyond religious skits and homily dramas to do something more challenging, less preachy, and more theatrical. And did we say funny?...